"War on Christians" conference contains much about Jews

by JewsOnFirst, March 30, 2006

A "War on Christians" conference in Washington DC this week featured a dozen or so top leaders of the religious right, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and an litany of perceived (or contrived) grievances. And, for a conference portraying the resurgent Christian right as victimized, there was a disturbing focus on Jews -- albeit by Jews.

The individual training the spotlight on Jews was Don Feder, head of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation. The intended audience for his expressions of Jewish solidarity with the "persecuted" Christian right is not readily apparent. Was it potential Jewish supporters? Or was it Christians who might be encouraged to conclude that Jews are perpetrating the perceived "attacks" on Christians?

Feder evoked a favorite negative stereotypical view of Jews when, according to the Washington Post, he "urged the crowd not to blame 'the liberal, self-hating Jews in Hollywood. Remember, the people in this audience are more Jewish than people like Barbra Streisand, because you embrace Jewish values, she doesn't,' he said."

In his March 31st column, New York Jewish Week Washington correspondent James Besser reports Feder singling out Hollywood, "which he said makes movies that depict Christians in unflattering terms."

According to the Forward, Feder is a former editorial writer for the Boston Herald; his anti-defamation organization has no members or paid staff.

A Jewish panelFeder is also communications director of Vision America, the organization that put on the War on Christians conference. In addition to the general news release for the conference, there was a special news release focused on Jews, entitled Conference to Include 'Jews Confront The War On Christians' Panel

The release listed the Jewish panelists: Rabbi Aryeh Spero (an Orthodox rabbi from New York City), Hudson Institute scholar Michael Howowitz, Joseph Ben Ami (executive director, of the Institute for Canadian Values) and moderator Jeff Ballabon of the New York-based Center for Jewish Values.

The release quoted Vision America President Rick Scarborough saying: "I am heartened that these Jewish leaders, activists and intellectuals are making common cause with conservative Christians. They understand that attacks on Christians ultimately are attacks on Judeo-Christian morality."

An announcement on the Renew America website of former Ambassador Alan Keyes, a conference speaker, also noted the Jewish panel.

Besser of the Jewish Week quotes Feder saying that Jewish groups' concern over church-state separation “is basically just a way to end not Christian activism, but any public connection between faith and government.”

Feder told Besser that Anti-Defamation League's national director Abraham Foxman "has a problem with Christianity; he views it as being inherently anti-Semitic.” Foxman's retort cited Feder's "ignorance and bias," and a political agenda of undoing church-state separation.

According to Besser, "Feder conceded that the Jewish community 'remains strongly liberal and continues to vote overwhelmingly Democratic,' but said that will change as the Orthodox community grows and as the non-Orthodox community continues to experience a falling birthrate. 'That’s what it will take, in the long run' he said."

the tools you need to stand up and speak out on the great moral issues of our day. We can provide you with educational, legal, and moral support through a network of professionals who are committed to Biblical truth and dedicated to restoring America's Christian heritage.

Scarborough's new book, Liberalism Kills Kids, was promoted at the conference.

Aside from its Jewish content, the War On Christians conference featured such religious right luminaries as Gary Bauer, Sen. John Cornyn, Phyllis Schlafly, and Sen. Sam Brownback. Most reports estimated the attendance as several hundred.

According to the Washington Post, speakers portrayed criticisms of the theocratic agenda as efforts to destroy "Christianity" -- meaning the Christocratic variety of it. Some speakers cited years-old media criticism.

Post columnist Dana Milbank reported that host Rick Scarborough introduced DeLay as "a man that I believe God has appointed" and attributed the former leader's fall to his Christian faith. (Scarborough told the audience he couldn't "endorse" DeLay's candidacy for reelection because of his organization's tax-exempt status.)

The right-wing Cyber News Service quoted the Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition, saying that "the 'gay agenda" would come to a quick end if Americans rose up 'in numbers against it.... While most speakers said they prefer using the word 'homosexual' instead of 'gay,' Sheldon said he usually sticks with the term's original meaning: 'sodomite.'"

Writing about the conferene for an Alternet blog, Melissa McEwan said the "attacks" include "our devious machinations to throw Christians in jail, forcibly abort their fetuses, and compel them to engage in sexual acts with members of the same sex in accordance with our radical gay agenda."

By JewsOnFirst.org:
Our most recent reports and conversations

There's Still Christianity in the Public Schools?.
Jewish students down South face aggressive proselytizing by their evangelical classmates and scant protection from their schools, reports Jan Jaben-Eilon. Some Jewish youth who lack a strong Jewish foundation have fallen prey to efforts to convert them.
Go.

Cincinnati Jews and Christians "Stand Together" in Support of Israel.
Cincinnati Jews and Christians sponsored an event to bring together Christians and Jewish supporters of Israel. The focus was on why the Jewish community should welcome Christian support.
Go.

Messianic Jewish Groups Claim Rapid Growth.
Most American Jewish organizations shun these quasi-Christians, although they embrace Christian Zionist organizations. However, the messianic groups are increasingly finding acceptance in Israel, where the lines are blurring between them and Christian Zionist groups.
Go.

Christian Zionist's Night to Honor Israel in Albuquerque.
The Jewish Federation of New Mexico partnered Christians United for Israel in a public event in Albuquerque featuring CUFI leader John Hagee and his high profile friend and supporter in the Jewish community, talk show host Dennis Prager.
Go.

Victory in Delaware School District Case.
The Supreme Court's refusal January 19th to hear a case about religion in public schools that JewsOnFirst has followed for years was a resounding victory for the Jewish "Doe" family in Delaware who brought the case, and for countless families across the country.
Go.

Deconstructing the Bush Administration's Faith-based Initiatives.
In an interview with JewsOnFirst.org that will be of particular interest to congregations, Prof. Robert Wineburg discusses how Bush officials re-directed $2.5 billion in social welfare funds from mainline religious agencies to local religious congregations and inexperienced faith-based agencies.
Go.

Kentucky’s Ark Encounter.
Avi Milgrom gives us a detailed look at the Ark Encounter, a planned $170 million, 800-acre creationism theme park, subsidized by state and local government funds. The nearby Creation Museum, a partner in the Ark Encounter project, hires only Christians.
Go.

Denver Jews Force Federation to Withdraw Invitation to Rev. John Hagee.
We talk with three local Jewish leaders about the Denver Allied Jewish Federation's "disinviting" Pastor John Hagee, who was to have keynoted a November dinner, and replacing him with David Brog (pictured), the CEO of Hagee's Christians United for Israel.
Go.

Christian Zionist Leader Hagee and Rabbi Speak at Colorado Event.
Rev. John Hagee and Orthodox Rabbi Selwyn Franklin spoke at a Colorado church's Night to Honor Israel on October 16th. A share of the collection plate was destined for the Ariel settlement on the West Bank.
Go.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Terms Palestinian State Victory for "Jihadism".
We have exclusive coverage of Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon's speech at a Christian Zionist program at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. The program was sponsored by the Jewish Federation, right-wing pro-Israel groups and Christian organizations.
Go.

JewsOnFirst Reports on The Response.
Blatant and repeated calls for Jews to accept Jesus punctuated Texas Governor Rick Perry’s August 6th Response revival meeting. There were also calls to redeem the United States for Jesus. Our eyewitness report has details.
Go.

Inside CUFI's 2010 Washington "Summit".
As in past years, JewsOnFirst has posted a report from inside the Washington DC conference of Christians United for Israel, the leading Christian Zionist organization.
Go.

Inside CUFI's 2011 Washington "Summit".
As in past years, JewsOnFirst is posting a report from inside the Washington DC conference of Christians United for Israel, the leading Christian Zionist organization. Big eyebrow-lifters this year were Glenn Beck's keynote speech and a CUFI board member's wife saying that dividing Jerusalem will delay the return of Jesus.
Go.

A Muslim Community Center? Why Not?.
We analyze the arguments, pro and con, in the fierce debate over Park51, the proposed Muslim community center near Ground Zero in the context of longstanding national conversations about the meaning of religious freedom and what sort of country we are and want to be.
Go.

Doomsday Q & A.
When the "Rapture" or "Doomsday" predicted for May 21st by fundamentalist preacher Harold Camping became national headline news, we thought it would be useful to explore the underlying dynamics of such events. We turned to John Hubers, a professor of Religion at Northwestern College in Orange, Iowa, who observed that "doomsday soothsayers" offer structure and certainty to followers whose ranks swell in times of uncertainty.
Go.

Judge rules National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled in a case against President Obama and the National Day of Prayer Task Force that the law is unconstitutional because it "...endorses prayer." We have posted case documents, including the deposition of Shirley Dobson of Focus on the Family (pictured), who leads the Task Force.
Go.

Videos by JewsOnFirst.org

Martha Schaerr, Stealth School Board Candidate in Montogomery County, Maryland. Schaerr is not telling voters she was a leader in the
Christian right's fight to block the school district's new sex education curriculum -- primarily because it teaches acceptance of homosexuality.
Go.

Video in the Radio Talk Show Studio - Part Two of our on-the-air interview with Dan Gaffney, morning talk show host
on WGMD-FM on Delaware's Eastern Shore. Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak of JewsOnFirst debates concepts including "absolute truth" and the relevance of Jesus
with Gaffney and his callers. Go.

Video in the Radio Talk Show Studio - Part One of our interview with Dan Gaffney, morning talk show host
on WGMD-FM on Delaware's Eastern Shore. JewsOnFirst went to Delaware's Eastern Shore to report on the settlement of two Jewish families' lawsuit against the school
district for sponsoring religion. Go.

The Christian Zionist's Bible: A Jewish Perspective. Our new educational video on a challenging topic -- how some on the
Christian right read "the Jews" into the New Testament -- features Dr. Michael J. Cook of Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati in conversation with Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak of JewsOnFirst.org. Go.

An Enduring Passion: Sharon Raphael and Mina Meyer. On their 37th anniversary, Meyer and Raphael
married in California. The political activism that has been a constant of their life together dates back to the founding of the
gay liberation movement and it continues in their opposition to Proposition 8. Go.

Pastor John Hagee's Fixation on Iran: A Self-fulfilling Prophecy? We examine how the
Christian Zionist leader's belief in the end times drives his hard-line political position on Iran, and ask:
Is Hagee's Iran policy about Jewish safety? Or Christian Apocalypse? Go.

Pastor John Hagee's Preoccupation with the Jews.
With narration by Ed Asner, our video shows a number of instances in which Christian Zionist leader
Hagee's understanding of Jews and Judaism should give Jewish organizations that support him cause for concern.
Go.

Campus Jewish group sponsors trailblazing forum on Christian Zionism. The complete recording of
Christians, America, and the Holy Land -- Examining Christian Support for Israel, sponsored by the
Chicago Friends of Israel at the University of Chicago. Go.

Iran and the End Times at Pastor John Hagee's 2008 Washington Summit. When John Hagee's organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI) held its July 2008 summit at the Washington DC Convention
Center, JewsOnFirst.org reporters were inside and outside. This video shows some
of what we saw and heard, despite CUFI's extraordinary efforts to shield the meeting from public scrutiny.
Go.